that is certainly seen as a victory by the taliban. >> you know the discussions the taliban are having. what is the best way to join more of them to join the political process within the timeframe that nato forces will remain? how do we pull more of them into the political process? >> i think their are two ways. one is to defeat them on the battlefield. in areas where nato and afghan forces are fighting them, including local forces, did defeat them on the battlefield. we have seen them willing to -- to defeat them on the battlefield. we have seen them willing to reintegrate in those areas. secondly, more broadly, put more pressure on pakistan, the biggest outside government supporter of the taliban. if they were to suddenly decide they wanted to cut a deal, that would put pressure on the taliban. unfortunately, we are not seeing across-the-board big three in all locations, nor we seeing pakistan put pressure on them -- a cross-led dashboard victory -- across-the-board- victory in all locations, nor are we seeing pakistan put pressure on them. we're seeing the taliban lose ground in the